MEDIA COURTHOUSE — A Delaware doctor accused of trying to kill her former partner and their son with a handgun as they sat in a car on Memorial Day 2013 did not have any damage to her extremities after being placed under arrest, according to a Pennsylvania State Police trooper.

Trooper Michael Suter said he photographed the arms and legs of Lauren Patricia Daly, 41, a doctor at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., which showed no visible bruises or other injuries.

Defense attorney Michael Malloy has been trying to build a case that the victim, Margaret Grover, had a history of attempting to run down his client, including an incident on Mother’s Day just a couple of weeks before the May 27 shooting in front of Daly’s home in the 200 block of North Middletown Road.

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Daly is charged with two counts each of attempted homicide, simple assault and reckless endangerment, as well as four counts of aggravated assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Glover and the couple’s 11-year-old son testified earlier this week that Daly was standing in front of Grover’s car at about 6:45 p.m. on Memorial Day when she fired a black and silver handgun through the windshield, striking Grover five times.

Both victims said the car was in park at the time and that Grover put the car in gear only after the shooting stopped. Grover drove herself to nearby Riddle Memorial Hospital while calling 911.

Responding troopers said they quickly took Daly into custody and retrieved the handgun, which was lying outside near the driveway. They located two spent cartridge cases and said another had jammed in the ejector port of the gun.

Grover said the incident started with Daly demanding to speak to their son, but she claimed Daly did not actually like the boy and almost never reached out to him or called on birthdays or holidays.

Malloy played five voice messages for the jury that Daly had left on Grover’s phone indicating she wanted to speak to their son, but the dates for those messages were unclear.

The boy also testified that Daly, whom he referred to as “Lauren,” did not speak to him when they saw each other and that he never called her back because he did not believe she wanted to talk to him.

Dr. James Greytok, principal at The Haverford School’s middle school where the boy was a former student, also testified Wednesday that he had received a letter from Daly’s attorney in January asking that he not be enrolled in the fall because of financial issues.

Daly met with Greytok that March concerning the boy’s allegedly violent and deceitful behavior, and asked if he would not be better suited at a different school, he said.

“During that meeting, she was surprised that we wanted (him) to come back and she had mentioned to me that she was concerned that (he) may become or take on the characteristics of Jeffrey Dahmer,” he said.

Malloy made several mentions of a blog the boy kept, but the jury was not allowed to hear anything of its substance. Assistant District Attorney Mary Mann noted the only allegations of any behavioral problems had come only from the defendant.

Mann had produced some handwritten pages allegedly found in Daly’s house titled “Here’s the Plan,” which included “trash (Grover’s) character, (the boy’s) behavior, etc.” Grover identified the handwriting as Daly’s.

Also testifying Wednesday was Joseph Hurley, a manager at Targetmaster in Chadds Ford, who sold Daly the Kahr Arms CM9 9 mm pistol allegedly used in the shooting.

Hurley said Daly purchased the weapon, a box of ammunition and a gun safe on May 6 after testing it out at the on-site range. He said she had indicated she wanted something for personal defense and he had recommended the smaller Kahr model, which he said is marketed as an easily concealable weapon.

The boy testified Daly pulled the gun from her sweatshirt pocket before opening fire.

The trial is expected to continue today before Judge Michael F.X. Coll.

About the Author

Alex Rose covers court proceedings for the Daily Times. He also writes a weekly science column. Reach the author at arose@delcotimes.com
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